


Vortex

by Tat_Tat



Series: Steven Universe Fics in 2015 [10]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Past Abuse, Underwater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-18 06:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3559811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tat_Tat/pseuds/Tat_Tat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasper is Lapis Lazuli's prisoner now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1/10/2016. 
> 
> I wrote this about a year ago. My viewpoints on Jasper and her relationship with Lapis has changed remarkably since then. So if this is one of my first Jaspis fics you've read, please don't judge my other work by it. But if this is the Jaspis you're looking for, I'm not going to stop you from reading and I hope you enjoy it.

After centuries, freedom is unrealistic, farther away than a dream. Lapis Lazuli doesn’t torture herself anymore, imagining what freedom is like. She feels somewhat happier here, surrounded by her element, the salt sea wrapped around their body like a cocoon. 

The sealife feared their form at first. Fish fluttered away at the mere shadow of their presence. Years have passed. So many years and she never kept count. She only knows too much time has passed because coral and kelp beds have taken shape over their body and the fish and eels that once feared them call their body home. 

Lapis finds some comfort in the fish twining around their legs like needy cats, and the sea horses bobbing at eye level. The stingrays tickle and kiss their feet. 

Jasper is a bundle of anger. She slips to the surface sometimes, growling at the clownfish, scaring the polyps. She can no longer take her anger out on Lapis, so she tries to unload it on the few things that make the other gem happy. The things that help her forget.

Lapis never lets her get away with it for long, tightening the shackles. Jasper resists the urge to wince, and instead, grunts. Lapis floats to the surface of consciousness, keeping her mind placid amidst the storm in her heart: the torrent that is Jasper and how she feels about the other gem, now her other half. 

Jasper is her prisoner, and yet, she still feels captive, shackled to her. There is a sadness within, twisted into anger that tempts her to make Jasper suffer.

Jasper deserves it, right? They all do, for torturing her, keeping her prisoner. For breaking her. She’s changed so much, she’s been bound to Jasper for so long, she hardly remembers who she was before she was broken. 

She doesn’t remember who she was or what it means to be happy, and that makes her angry. She could treat Jasper the same way she treated her. She admits that she smiled when Jasper howled against her willpower, that a laugh bubbled up her throat. And she remembers how Jasper would grab her by the wrists, cutting off circulation and leaving bruises. Jasper would laugh and call her weak.

Well, who is the weak gem now?

Lapis has power over Jasper, a power she wasn’t aware of until she snapped, fed up with being used. She could use Jasper now just like Jasper used her. She could show her how it feels to be powerless. She can do more than keep her prisoner, tethered to her underwater.

But she doesn’t. 

Lapis is afraid when she touches that darkness. The other gem is already a part of her and Lapis is a mirror. If she’s not careful she’ll be no different than her abuser.

Sometimes, she thinks it’s already too late.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't expect to write a second chapter but here we are! I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Jasper underestimated Lapis. She figured that was Lapis's plan. A prisoner could have a lot of time to think while in custody. Jasper knew that then; she knows it personally now.

She used to stew in anger, coming up with flawed plans of escape, imagining revenge, cold and sweet. She used to imagine Lapis's screams reverberating off the cell walls, how Jasper could lift her with just her pinky finger. She didn't think it had meant anything, like all the other interrogations. She didn't expect to miss holding Lapis's chin between two fingers, growling in her face, slapping her on the cheek.

Lapis would always heal quickly, the deep indigo and purple bruises dissolving like ripples in a pond. Jasper should have realized the other gem's strength then, instead of getting cocky and saying with a grin, "More fight in you?"

Normally that would have frustrated her. Jasper liked it when her opponents stayed down. But Jasper didn't get annoyed when Lapis got back up again and again. Maybe it was how Lapis would sway as she got back to her feet, or her hollow downcast eyes that made Jasper feel, despite Lapis's tenacity, that she had won. Or maybe she was just excited that she could still use Lapis as a writhing punching bag.

So when Lapis defied her, she was caught off-guard. A surge of power had passed through her when they fused and she assumed that was her own. She had thought it was herself that moved the tide, that Lapis was her avatar, acting as support. And then the water wrapped around their wrists, tight as vines, cold as chains dipped in ice. The tide had swept them up, feet sinking into the sand. She had disagreed, and pulled and tugged away. The action, she didn't realize until later, reminded her of how Lapis would fight against her. 

Jasper had a lot of time to think about what she had done. At first, she didn't regret it, angry and in denial that Lapis bested her. She twisted under Lapis' thumb, contorting their form, and sometimes she very nearly won and broke free. But always. Always, Lapis held her tight like a firm hug, and Jasper would lose her resolve. The action was gentle but strong. She didn't know how to take it, stunned after fighting it. 

It was times like this that Lapis reminded Jasper of Rose. Rose was a strong warrior. She could destroy if she wanted to, but instead, she chose to cherish. When they had faced each other, Rose didn't make her feel weak. Her grip around her wrist was firm and just. She made Jasper feel equal.

Lapis, however, made it clear that Jasper was not her superior. Or her equal. 

She wore down Jasper's anger, slowly but surely, like a tide carves itself through rock, creating canyons. It took years but Lapis was patient. They had nothing but time.

When Lapis finally pulled herself away from Jasper, it takes her awhile to register what happened, that it was real. Water bound itself to Jasper again, before she could escape, forcing her to kneel in the sand, back bent, chest facing upwards. A faint beacon of light from the surface blinded her, the sight of freedom taunting.

"Of course," she muttered, the words bubbling from her mouth, unheard.

Lapis's back was turned to her, and whatever rage Jasper felt melted away. The silk ties of her sundress and her hair billowed out, trailing behind her as she stood, hands stretched slightly at her sides. She looked like she was leaving and the thought drove through Jasper like a jagged spike. She screamed and made demands of Lapis, but water filled her mouth and she sputtered and gasped for air, though she didn't need to breathe. The water was dark and it closed in on her from both sides. It was lonely, and though Lapis never spoke a word to her, after all these years, she knew it would be quiet if she left her.

Swift and calm, Lapis turned. She stepped towards Jasper. Her bare feet left no imprints, and she didn't kick up any spurs of sand. She looked like she was floating, ethereal and distant like a manta ray. Her eyes were clear and confident, chin upturned. Their eyes locked and she didn't pull away, sweeping past Jasper. There was a myriad of emotions glinting in Lapis' eyes: contempt, anger, sadness, hatred. 

Lapis crouched down, eye level to Jasper. A school of fish swam between them, and when they passed, Jasper found Lapis was still staring sternly at her. A ripple ran down Jasper's spine, rooted to the spot, chains or no. 

Lapis' palms rested on top of her knees. She was pensive. Jasper shifted uncomfortably and found she was allowed some movement. What movement she was granted was painful, but maybe what she was about to do is worth it. It was a fleeting thought, and an even quicker action. Jasper was always impulsive, and the kiss she planted on Lapis’s lips surprised them both. 

Jasper wasn't sure what it meant, and didn't question it. Not yet. She'd do that later. For now she leaned forward, kissing the other gem as hard as she could while Lapis sat still, her lips parted in shock. 

Jasper's tongue brushed between her lips and Lapis pulled away, regaining her cold composure and bearings. Her clear blue eyes glowered at Jasper as she bit her lips. She wanted to say something, but chose not to. The chains rattled like wind chimes. They dug into Jasper’s flesh and she groaned under the pressure. Groaned in frustration. At Lapis. At herself.

There was no room for forgiveness in Lapis’s heart, and for once, Lapis's choices didn’t surprise Jasper. In fact, she had expected it, but that didn't mean it was easy to accept. 

Jasper hated losing, and the rejection was a new form of defeat. She growled like a wild animal in a trap, the chains rattling, echoing, scattering the fish. The more she fought, the deeper the chains dug into her skin, the flesh underneath blood-orange and dripping. Lapis smiled a little at that.


End file.
